Bingo and similar “matching” games, such as keno and lottery games, are very popular. The game of bingo is played with a set of game indicia. The game indicia may comprise letters, numbers, or a combination thereof. Players are issued cards having a plurality of spaces which are marked with game indicia or other indicators (such as a “free” space). The total number of spaces of the game card, and thus the number of game indicia associated with the card, is less than the entire set of game indicia. Players attempt to match the game indicia associated with the spaces of their card(s) with game indicia associated with game balls. In particular, a set of game balls is provided, each game ball configured to display a single game indicia. In this manner, the entire set of game balls is equal to the number of game indicia.
In the play of the game, physical balls (or electronic representations thereof) are selected. The player attempts to match the single game indicia indicated on each selected game ball to the game indicia displayed on their card. The player's goal is to achieve matches on their card in predetermined patterns or combinations in order to receive a winning outcome.
As indicated, however, in a bingo game, each bingo ball is marked with a single one of the game indicia. The balls are called or selected, generally one at a time (in some cases, a first group of balls may be selected to start the game, where after balls are selected one at a time until a winner is achieved). As each ball is selected or generated, each player determines if the single game indicia associated with that game ball matches any of the game indicia associated with their card. One problem with the game of bingo played in this manner is that it is generally very slow. In addition, there are few winners of the game because the game is typically terminated as soon as a ball is selected or generated which causes a player or players to receive a game-ending pattern.